Improvement in grain-separator



tinned seat C. F. BABCOCK, OF'CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 91,067, dated June 8, 1869.

,IMPROYEMENT IN G-RAIN-SEPARATOR.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, O. F. BABCOOK, of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Separator; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and general arrangement of a grain-separator, which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe its construction and. operation, referring to the annexed drawings, which form apart of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the separator;

Figure-3 is a plan view of a triangular screen used in the same; I

Figure 4- is an enlarged section of the wire-cloth used in the end-shakeof the mill; and

Figure 5 is'a side view of the front end of the lower screen, showing the device for obtaining any desired degree of vibration to the same.

A represents the frame of the machine, at the rear end of which is situated the drum B, containing the fan 0. p

D represents the hopper.

One end, a, of this hopper slides in grooves in the sides of the machine, and thumb-screws b b are placed in the side of the upper part of the mill, passing into said grooves, for the purpose of holding the hopperboard-a in any place desired.

It is very important, in cleaning grain, that a uniform feed be maintained, in order to do good and perfect work, and unless the hopper-board be so arranged that it can be held fast in any desired place, such result cannot be obtained.

Under the hopper D is placed a screen, E, in the shoe F.

The shoe Fishy suitable means suspended in the name A, and obtains the required motion through a pitman, o,'which connects a crank on the end of the fan shaft with a lever, d, placed outside of the frame A, on the end of a shaft, 8, which passes through the frame, and has its bearings in the sides of the frame.

The lever dis provided with a series of holes, as seen in fig. 2, so that, by changing the end of the pitman, the amount of motion contributed through the said pitman may be easily regulated.

From the shaft 6 an arm, I, extends upward, inside of the frame A, which arm is, by a rod, 9, connected with across-bar, h, in the shoe F, and thus the necessary motion is communicated from the fan-shaft to the shoe.

In the front. part of the shoe F, below and in front of the screen E, is placed a sliding screen, Gr, made of rolled or pressed wire-cloth. It has been usual, in the construction of mills with the end-shake movement, to use perforated zinc, or other metallic screens. The use of rolled, or pressed wire in place of said perforated zinc, or other metallic substance, for screens is, in conncction with the end-shake, of great importance, as it renders the shoe lighter and less unwieldy, thereby increasing the capacity, and rendering the work of operating the mill much easier.

-The rolled or pressed'wire-cloth also presents a smooth surface to the grain, which is very essential in the separation of cats or rye from wheat, thereby rendering the end-shake mill, as constructed withvthe rolled or pressed wire-cloth screens, more practicable and eifective than any mill now in use- In front of the fan 0, under the rear end of the screen G, is placed a stationary triangular screen, H, provided with a gutter, or spout, I, alongits rearedge.

The object of the screen is to-grade out the heaviest, plumpest, soundest, and most perfect wheat, for seed. This', it will readily be seen, is done by this peculiar arrangement of screen immediately before the blast In this way, '13. a, by the natural law of gravitation, the,

heavy plump wheat keeps below and next the screen, with the foul stuff above it, as it passes over the first screen, where-it first. falls out of the hopper. In this relation, '5. a, the sound grain below, and the lighter' grain and foul stuff above, it all falls upon coarser screens, which discharge the wheat and carry oh the oats and foul stuff. Now it will be seen that the portion of wheat that is the heaviest, consequently the soundest, will fall directly before the blast in condition almost clean, when it first falls'ou the triangular screen Now the peculiar position of this screen, directly before the blast, and inclined toward-the same, does, in

the most perfect manner, complete the rest of the Under the triangularscreeu H is the usual lower screen J, the lower rear end of which restson a rod, h, secured in the sides of the frame A. The under side of this rear end is provided with corrugated bars t,

which rest on the rod h, and the front end of .said

screen is connected by a rod, k, to an arm, m, extending downward from the shaft 0, thus giving said screen the necessary np-and down, or backward and forward motion.

The front end of the screen J is, at its under side, on each side, provided with a countersink, which receives the round-headed screw n, for vibrating said screen as it passes over the two thumb-screws 0 0, in the sides of the mill.

It has long been known to those versed in the cleaning of grain, that no device is so important as that which will give a thorough vibration to the screens. It not only keeps the grain and seeds in a lively brisk motion over every part of the screen, but also prevents the grain and seed from fastening in the meshes of the screen, closing them up and rendering them unfit for use. Now this device not only'ihrnishesone of the most firm and effective means of vibration, but it has the great advantage over all other modes, in the ease with which the said vibration can be put on and let oti. By means of the screw and countersink, the vibration of said screen can be taken ofi" entirely, or let on, to

any extent. This is one of the most important and practical advantages in cleaning grain, for it sometimes happens that in very dry wheat filled with small round seeds, such as the seeds of grass, weeds, and small eockle, none, or but very little vibration is required, which, in fact, would be a damage to the screen, inasmuch as these light, round seeds would be kept constantly in the air above the screen. On the other hand, in cleaning wheat that is a little damp, filled with chess or small oats, the grain, chess, or cats, will hardly move over the screen, without a large and firm vibration, and in order to clean fast, the, usual vibration must be largely increased, otherwise the screenbecomes loaded with grain so much as to overcome any ordinary vibration. By simply turning the screws ran down into the countersink, or rice term, we have any amount of vibration the case requires.

The thumb-screws o o are placed in curved slots 8,

in the sides of the mill, said slots forming part of a circle, having the screen for radius, thus keeping the round-headed screws n n constantly in place over the thumb-screw, whenever the screen is raised or lowered. This, it will be seen, would not be obtained were not the round head of the screw n'and the thumbcentre of motion. W'ere it not for this, or were the slots .9 3 cut straight in the usual way, the round head of the screw would be constantly liable to be thrown out of place at any elevation or depression of the screen.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isp 1. The triangular screen H, placed in front of the blast and under the upper screens, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The arrangement, on the screen J, of the roundheaded screw n, placed on the under side, at the front end, in a countersink, and resting on the thumb-screw 0, which passes through a curved slot in the frame A, substantially as and for the purposes'lierein set forth.

3. The perforated lever (l, in combination with the shaft 0, arm f, rod g, cross-bar h, and shoe F, when arranged in the manner and operating for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with the triangular screen H, the under screen J, rods h and It, corrugated bars "l, and arm up, when arranged and operated in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand, this 18th day of February,

o. F. BABGOOK.

Witnesses l J. A. COLBY,

H. E. SAWYER. I

screw 0 kept constantly at the same distance from the. 

